Overturned mask mandates leave transport authorities in flux

theguardian.com:

A federal judge in Florida has struck down Joe Biden’s national mask mandate covering airplanes, airports and other public transportation, prompting the White House to announce the rule would not be enforced while federal agencies decide how to respond to the judge’s order.

The ruling appeared to free operators to make their own decisions about mask requirements, with several airlines announcing they would drop mandates, but other transport networks including the New York City subway planning to keep them in place.

The mandate was overturned on Monday by the US district judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, who judged the rule as exceeding the authority of US health officials in the coronavirus pandemic.

She added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rule-making procedures.

In her 59-page ruling, Mizelle said the only remedy was to vacate the rule entirely because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group who objected to it in the lawsuit.

The judge said: “A limited remedy would be no remedy at all.” She added that the courts had full authority to make a decision such as this – even if the goals of the CDC in fighting the virus were laudable.

“Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends, the court declares unlawful and vacates the mask mandate,” she wrote.

The White House later said the court ruling meant that, for now, the mask order “is not in effect” and would not be enforced by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Mizelle is an appointee of Donald Trump. She was rated “not qualified” to serve as a federal judge by the American Bar Association at the time she was